A biosensor may be denoted as a device that may be used for detecting an analyte that combines a biological component with a physicochemical or physical detector component.
For instance, a biosensor may be based on the phenomenon that capture molecules immobilized on a surface of a biosensor may selectively hybridize with target molecules in a fluidic sample, for instance when an antibody-binding fragment of an antibody or the sequence of a DNA single strand as a capture molecule fits to a corresponding sequence or structure of a target molecule. When such hybridization or sensor events occur at the sensor surface, this may change the electrical or optical properties of the surface, which may be detected as the sensor event.
Huimin Ouyang, Lisa A. DeLouise, Benjamin L. Miller, and Philippe M. Fauchet, “Label-Free quantitative detection of protein using macroporous silicon photonic bandgap biosensors”, Anal. Chem 79, 1502-1506 (2007) discloses a label-free biosensor using macroporous silicon (pore size >100 nm) one-dimensional photonic band gap structures that are sensitive to refractive index changes. The disclosure demonstrates that a macroporous silicon microcavity sensor may be used to selectively and quantitatively detect a specific target protein with minimal sample preparation.
However, such a conventional biosensor may lack sufficient accuracy and reproducibility.